Coffee-cleaning apparatus.



W. D. BALCOM.

( NUT-F. CLEANING APPARATUS. APil-IOATIGN "LED mm. 5. 1600.

5977.697 Patented Dec.6, 1910.

- anucuroz 1 Hpzucu W bitter taste.

UNITED sTA'r e PA'LENT OFFICE.

wmuur D. BALCOH. OF GBEELEY. COLORADO. ASSIONOR OFONEJLALI' TO NELLA C. SALOON, OI GBEELEY. COLORADO. AND ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN W. MOBEY AND OII-I'OUITH TO IDOL I. BELLE. 01 DENVER. COLORADO.

a) all whom it may concern: Be it known that I. 'niuan D. Damon. ticitizen of the United States. residing at (ireeler. county of \Vcld. and State of (,olorado. tare invented certain new and useful Improvements in (.otl'ee-t'leunin Apparatns; and 1 do declare the follownu: to be a full. clear, and exact description of the invention, such air-will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and are the name, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which ionn a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements ii a paratua for clean ng ground tmtl'ce. the o )ect being to rel .o'e the chatl' or light material which when left in the ground eofl'ee. given the drink made therefrom a In my improred construction the coffee from the grinder is delivered to the cleaning apparatus in a don-:nrardly directed stream, thucleaning derice being provided with a spreader. which separates t ic ground ootl'ee whereby it is more ell'ectirely acted upon br a currentof air which is upwardly direct-ed, moving in a direction opposite the cofl'ee as it pattern then b the cleaner. The force or rtre h of this air current is so ated that it will remove the waste matcria from the mice and deliver it to a suitable rcce taole while the valuable portion of t ie cotlec in undisturbed by the said current and falla downwardly into a auitahle receptacle. Au nhown in the draw-inf. a screen is arranged below the body 0 the cleaner upon which the ground cotl'ee falls. The liner portion of the cotlee ["(NS through this screen nto a receptacle below. while the. coarser portion of the cotl'ee, being rejected by the acreen, purines into a ac utrate receptacle. There l nothing partteu arly norel about that lttltl named feature.

An shown in my improretl construction. a suction fan is connected with a conduit. the latter being irl communication with the body of the cleaner or that containing the apreadi COFIIE-OLELN TNO APPARATUS.

' Patented Dec. c.1010.

ing device. This fan or suction-inducing apparatus may be operated by an electric motor or any other suitable power. Provision is lnudc for aurin a relatively small portion of the cotl'ee wiich is $utliciently light to be carried away with the air current. This falls into a receptacle located at the discharge extremity of the air conduit.

Haring brielly outlined my llll u'ored construclion, I will proceed to descri e tile same in detail. reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, consisting of a single view. and in which the apparatus. is shown chiefly in section. let the numeral 5 designate a vertically disposed open ended drum in which is sir uded a centrally located epreader twhich. as shown in the drawing. has the. shape of two cones placed base to base. the a my of one cone extending: upwardly. and that ot the other downwardly. The lower extremity of thi-z drum is pro \idcd with a reduced member I through which the entire pauses downwardly through an inclined M't'cen 8 covering u.rcccptuclc 5) into which the liner portion In of the eotl'ec arses. The coarser part 12. which irre- Jected by the screen, pusaeq downwardly mto a wceptaclo 13.

The upper extiemity of the. drum 5 merges into an elbow-ahapcd conduit- 14, which is connected with the reduced it per part of the drum. The extremity o the conduit 14 remote from the drum. eotnluttnicatea with a downwardly directed conduit member 16 leading to a fan 12' operated by a motor 18. A conduit nu-uihcr It! leads from the fan and enters a housing 20 whose upper portion is covered with a screen 21 for the escape of the air. This housing is adapted to catch and retain the ligltltl portion or waste material which rcuiored from the'ground cotl'ee by the our current. 'ithin the housing 20 is a conduit member '2. \t'lttuit' n lper portion is slotted as ahowu at 23 for tie escape of the waste nntteriul into the bout-mtg. This conduit member is downwardly inclined from the conduit 1:), and its lower extremity opens into a compartment 24 into which the art 25 of the rodeo \vhich'is removed by t It air current is caught.

The upper extremity of the comlnit member m is provided with a sliding gate or air check 26 whereby the draft or force of the air current may )0 re ulatcd and controlled. It is evident that if t iis gate 26 be adjusted to form an opening at the top of the conduit member 16, the force of the air current will be reduced, while if the gate is kept closed, the said current will be increased in strength.

The coffee to be treated is delivered to the drum b-thron h the agency of a funnel- :haped device 27 mto which the ground coffee ma be discharged from the grinder (not showni: The lower reduced part 28 of the funnel shaped device asses through an opening formed inthe at w 14 and extends downwardly into the drum 5 terminating a short distance above the upper apex of the spreader 6.

Assuming that the fan IS in motion, an air current of any desired strength is caused to pass upwardly through the drum 5, thence through the elbow 14, ownwardly through the conduit 16, through the fan, and thencethrough the conduit 19 into the housing :20. As the cofl'ee is dischar upon the device 6 it is spread outward y in all directions, forming a relatively thin sheet havin the shape of a hollow cone through whi the air current passes, the direction of the current being upwardly throu h the drum 5 and toward the apex of tie hollow cone formed by the spreading of the codes as it strikes the cone shaped spreader 6.

The action of the air current on the cotfee results in removing the light worthless material eomposedof the film of the eotYce berry therefrom, the said matcrnd be ng caused to travel with the air current, taking the path heretofore described, being finally delivered into the inclined conduit member 22-within the housing 20. The light worthless material asses outwardly through the slots 28 of t e member 29 and is can ht within the housing, the air being allow to escape through the screen coverin 21. Any codes that may be carried with t is air currcnt passes downwardly through the inclined conduit member 22 and. into the compartmeat 24 and ts saved.

The coffee, after it has been subjected to the action of the upwardly, trsvelin air current, whereby the waste material is removed thercfrom. fails downwardly throu h the drum 5, finally coming in contact with the screen 8 through which the liner ground grade of t'lDiTtL' passes, falling into the re- 1. A cotl'eo eleulul, comprising a verti-.

rally-disposed. fiptn-tlltltt drum suitably supporter. a discharge pipe entering the drum from the top,-a cone-sha )ed spreader located therein directly under t to discharge pipe, a draft conduit communicating with 1 the up r extremity of the drmn, a screencove housing in which the o positc extremity of the conduit is locate a suction producing device located intermediate the conduit and a gate, located between the suchon-producing device and the drum, as means of regulatin the draft produced, substantially as descri d.

2. A cofl'ce cleaner, comprising a vertically-disposed, open-ended pipe or drum, a cone-shaped a reader mounted thereon, means for disc srging the coffee on the spreader from above, a draft conduit communicating with the upper cxtremit of the drum, a screen-covered housin in w ch the opposite extremity of the comhiit enters, the extremity of the conduit within the housing having a plurality of slots for the csca of the waste material, and means for causing a draft therethrough, substantially as described.

3. A cofl'ee cleaner, comprisin an openendcd drum, means for causing the cotl'ee to be treated to ass downwardly throu the drum, means or producing an upwart draft through the drum, a receptacle at the discharge extremit of the drum, and provided with an inclin screen cover upon which the clean coffee is discharged, a second receptacle adapted to receive the coarse grade of cotlec from the inclined screen, while the tine grade passes throu h the screen into the firstnamed recap cle, and a screened housing communicating with the upper extremity of the drum into which the waste material is ada ted to enter under the action of the dra t, substantially as described.

4. A codes cleaner, comprising a vertically ("13M drum, provided with reduced open on a, a cone-shaped spreader centrally suspended therein, a ischurgc pipe entering the drum from the top, and terminating above the apex of thc spreader, whereby the cotlee to be treated is dischar u )0" the lattcr,and caused to spread on ward y in all directions, a receiving receptacle rovided with ascreen cover, located under t 0 lower extremlt of the drum, a draft conduit communicatmg with the upper cxtremit of the drum, a screen covered housing in which the opposite extremity of the draft conduit is located, a suction producing device, located intennediute the said draft conduit, a gate, located intermediate the suqion Iproducing device and the drum, for. regn ating the draft iilfl'tillltlllfll; to cause the coarser 5 grade of cnfl'oe to discharged at the lower extremity of the drum on tho inclined screen of the reeeivinf reee tat-1e, and the fine maleriul to pom t u'ougi the draft conduit and enter the screen covered housing under the influence of the suction producing means, 10 substantially as described.

In testimon whereof I nffix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

. WILLIAM D. BALCOM.

Witnesses:

E. E. Summits, A. Ennrr OBmex. 

